Again
We just returned from beautiful Vashon Island near Seattle, sharing three days with all of our kids and grandkids. The weather was glorious, the views were stunning, the time was precious…and it meant I had three days hanging out with our 2-year-old granddaughter Ellie. Wow. I felt like I could see the growth and development happening right in front of me every day. Ellie is trying everything, noticing everything, running everywhere, beginning to put words into sentences…it’s fascinating. And like most 2-year-olds, if something is interesting or entertaining or fun, then it should absolutely be repeated any number of times. We read Curious George stories over and over. Another book about school buses was worth any number of re-reads. Going through the litany of all the names of people in our family and where they were at that moment merited countless renditions.
Ellie’s key word to make things happen was “Again!” Climb up Pops’ (that’s me) legs and get flipped over and lowered back down to the floor? Again! And again! And again! Play chase in the yard? Again! And again! And again! Every repetition seemed like it was the first time, bringing the same utterly delighted giggles. Only Pops’ limited stamina could put a damper on the requests.
I’m not the first one to notice this, of course. Over a century ago, G.K. Chesterton wrote in Orthodoxy:
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
Ellie and Chesterton are both onto something important. In our world of daily or hourly breaking-bad-news, it’s a discipline to repeatedly invest in things that are good and beautiful and right…and fun. It doesn’t mean we ignore the difficulties. Not at all. But are we investing regularly and deeply in the meaningful and lovely? Are we consumed with the many examples of destruction, or are we building something different? In a world that sometimes idolizes initiative and whatever seems new, repeating the previously-done might seem like a stodgy dead end. Then again, it might be the most life-breathing, God-honoring thing we could ever come up with. In your own life, or church or business, I wonder what makes you say “Yes, Lord, do it again!”? And I wonder if you expectantly look for God to breathe yet another breath of Holy Spirit air into your soul and endeavors?
The “eternal appetite of infancy” is kingdom of heaven stuff, and the Apostle Paul was way ahead of us here. Paul knew firsthand the difficulties of the world and the extreme challenges of living a faithful life in the midst of people who did not know the gospel. But when he wrote to the church at Philippi, here’s the advice he gave them: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).”
It’s almost like we need something to be a counterweight to all the rest. And since there is so much heaviness around us, we need to practice the “think about such things” not just once, or here and there…but again! And again. And again.
Peace of Christ,
Dan Baumgartner
Dan Baumgartner is the senior pastor at The Cove in Santa Rosa CA and currently serves on The Fellowship Community Board.
These are the expressed views of Dan Baumgartner and not necessarily broader views of The Fellowship Community.